Teenage star Nick Griggs turned in a superb performance to win silver for Ireland at the European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Turkiye this morning – the 19-year-old Tyrone athlete finishing second to Britain’s Will Barnicoat in the men’s U-23 race.
Griggs, who will turn 20 later this month, is in his first year in the U-23 category but as the quickest 5000m athlete in the field, he had little to fear from his older rivals as they set off in the 6.3km race at Dokuma Park.
On a flat, dry course, the conditions played into the hands of Griggs, an accomplished track performer who positioned himself in the leading group throughout. Heading out on the final lap, Griggs had two British rivals for company: Will Barnicoat, who beat him to the U-20 title at this event two years ago, and David Stone.
Barnicoat, the reigning U-23 champion, made his move on the final bend and Griggs was initially left behind back in third, but when he hit the jets soon after Griggs swiftly moved up to second and was closing down on Barnicoat as they approached the line. But in the end it wasn’t enough, Barnicoat clocking 18:27 with Griggs just one second back and Stone a further three seconds behind.
A potential team medal for Ireland never materialised, with Niall Murphy coming home 23rd and Callum Morgan 29th, the Irish finishing fourth with 54 points, 12 points behind bronze medallists Denmark.
The individual silver caps another remarkable year for Griggs, who trains under the guidance of Mark Kirk in Belfast. In July he broke the Irish U-23 records over 1500m (3:35.04), 3000m (7:36.59) and 5000m (13:13.07).
Elsewhere, Laura Mooney made a bold bid to win a medal in the women’s U-23 race but faded to seventh on the final lap, with Emma McEvoy 13th, the Irish finishing fifth in the team event.
“I’ve been through a lot of running and a lot of bad races and I said to myself, ‘I can’t let that happen again,’” said Mooney. “There was a saying going through my head the whole way: if you think the price of winning is too high, wait until you get the bill from regret. I was not letting that happen. I went out there and ran free.”
Earlier in the day, Anna Gardiner led the Irish home in the women’s U-20 race, finishing 19th with teammate Lucy Foster 20th, the Irish team finishing sixth. “The course wasn’t quite to my forte, it was hard terrain, very twisty and I didn’t do my best running,” said Gardiner. “It’s a learning experience. We’d a young team this year and we gave it our all and learned so much from it.”
Lughaidh Mallon was the first Irish athlete home in the men’s U-20 race in 26th, with Noah Harris next best in 28th and Jonas Stafford 29th, the team finishing ninth. “I’m really proud of how I got out there and handled myself,” said Mallon. “I wasn’t afraid, I put in brave moves, fought well. But at the end of the day I wasn’t fit enough to finish higher. But I’m massively happy with how I did.”